Legend of the Dream Keeper: The First Dream Rewrite
by Pax the Dreamer
Summary: Bowser has kidnapped the Star Spirits and stolen the Star Rod. Princess Peach is captured, and it's up to Mario to save the day. Enter Alex, a fourteen year old kid who finds himself in Mario's body and has to pick up the pace to save the world in Paper Mario. An attempt to rewrite the original LotDK series with the skills I've developed as a writer over the years.
1. Prologue: Wheels Set in Motion

**Author's Note: Don't expect this to update regularly. While the Legend of the Dream Keeper series means a lot to me, there's a fair bit to it that I don't like. I mean, I wrote it when I was freaking fourteen after all. With my past experiences behind me, I think I'd like to take another crack at this sucker.**

* * *

 _ **The Legend of the Dream Keeper**_

 _ **Part I: The Dream Keeper**_

 _ **Book 1: The First Dream**_

 _ **Prologue: Wheels Set in Motion**_

* * *

 _ **Enter Merlin:**_

* * *

There's a certain beauty that lives within the human mind, isn't there? Within each person, no matter who they are or where they come from, their mind has the power to create a universe full of stories. If you were to write down in a book the story that lies within each person's mind, you'd be able to fill the greatest library known in history to maximum capacity. It'd likely be a space library, maybe one that orbits the moon.

I want a space library now.

My name is Merlin. My very name alone should be proof of my statement. Even now, you're pulling forth ideas from stories you've heard associated with my name. Swords in stones, Knights in Armor, Ladies in Lakes and even a very pretty young man for those of you who remember that show. Each of those interpretations stemmed from an idea, and each idea came from a Dream.

That's where I live, now. After I had shed my mortal coil, my essence traveled into the Realm of Dreams. It is like an ocean here, with islands of Dreams as far as the eye can see. Each Dream holds an idea. Each idea, a whole world to experience. Even when you wake up, your Dream doesn't fade away. Rather, the stage had been set and the actors are all in their places… but there is no audience for them. So they continue to perform even in your absence, fleshing out the stage until it evolves into a full world.

I am not the only one who lives in this Realm between the Dreams, however. There is a whole race of beings made from pure Light devoted to cultivating and living from the ideas harvested from Dreams. They call themselves the Dreamers, likely because they're not very good at naming things. I kid of course… mostly. These people see me as a figurehead of sorts, a great sage in life and a powerful Dreamer in death. Even now, those few remaining Dreamers see my presence as a safe-haven from their greatest enemies:

Nightmares.

While a good many Dreams cultivate ideas and inspire action, there are those out there that inspire action in a different sense. When a Dream is filled with Darkness and portrays emotion rather than ideas… that is the work of the Nightmares. Beings made of pure Darkness, they harvest the emotion of the darker distaff to the Dreams the Dreamers harvest ideas from.

For as long as anyone in this realm can remember, the Dreamers and the Nightmares have been at war with one another. Darkness corrupts Light, the Dreamers argue, and Light burns away Darkness. This has been the foundation of their feud for as long as either race has recorded history. The sky is blue, humans breathe air to live, and the Dreamers and Nightmares are destined to fight one another.

The war has led both sides to doing… questionable things that I will not divulge into right now. Needless to say, both sides deserve to feel ashamed for what they've done in the past in their ceaseless struggle to kill the other. The balance of power has been constantly shifting, with both the Dreamers and the Nightmares doing their damnedest to make that invisible pendulum shift to their own advantage. For the Dreamers, this has led to atrocities such as the Keyblade Wars.

And for the Nightmares… what we're dealing with right now.

The foundation for the Dreamer Army has all but fallen. Nearly every soldier who had devoted their lives to fighting the Nightmares have either been slain or turned into Nightmares themselves. The Dreamer race still lives, but scattered in pockets here and there. We've been struggling to find them, but it's dangerous to gather too many in a single spot. As it stands, we who remain from the main organization are running from Dream to Dream in search of asylum.

There are only three of us left: Myself, the scholar Nozan, and the poor assistant Tom. Before everything went to hell, Nozan was a running politician and heading to become the leader of the Dreamers. Tom was interning to finish his thesis so he could join the higher ranks himself. We three weren't the only ones who escaped from the Dreamer's base when the Nightmare Invasion hit, but we soon realized either we were the only ones who survived the aftermath or no one else could receive our transmissions.

It's been a year since that fateful day. At the time of writing, we're hiding within the Dream of the Mushroom Kingdom Storybook World. The Guardians of this Dream, the Star Spirits, are understandably wary of our presence, but Nozan's diplomacy has been helping our case in warming their hearts to us (and I'd like to think my cake's been helping, I have darned good recipe!).

That said… things aren't looking so good for us right now. I'm writing this partially as a message to any who may see this in the future, and partially to get these thoughts off my chest. While I keep a façade of cheer and goodwill around the others to keep morale high, deep down I'm… tired. I'm so, so tired…

We need a miracle to turn things around.

We need a Dream Keeper.

* * *

I took a breath as I folded the paper up, slipping it into the inner pocket of my cloak. Leaning the chair I'd been sitting in back on its hind legs and balancing my feet on the table ahead of me, I looked out through the window of the little hut I'd been calling my home to see the castle of Princess Peach. I smiled a little to myself, remembering how kind the princess was to provide this hut for us. The Star Spirits were wary to trust us, their fears based on past experiences with Dreamers, but the Princess saw us not as refugees from a war but as three homeless people that simply needed a place to stay.

The hut itself wasn't that bad. It was certainly old – apparently it was built back when the Mushroom Kingdom had a great Sage to advice the royalty – but cozy as well. It needed a LOT of dusting and a fresh coat of paint, but that wasn't a problem for the dustbins and paint cans I had animated with my magic. The civilians of the town were apparently so impressed by my display that I've made it into a sideshow performance. This, combined with my fortunetelling (read: people-reading) abilities have convinced the people we weren't just there to take up space and eat their food. I offered to pay back the Princess for her kindness, but being the absolute sweetheart that she was, she simply said the smiles on her people's faces were enough payment for her.

As precious as she is, I'm starting to get the idea why she's kidnapped so frequently – she doesn't have the heart to increase security to enough of a level that would deter her abductors. Well, abductor if what I've heard is anything to go by.

SLAM!

"Nozan, how many times must I tell you that it's not necessary to-" I started, not even turning around to face the Dreamer as I set the chair back fully on the floor.

"Sir, Tom's hurt!"

I jumped out of the chair and turned around. Nozan's blue robes were torn at places and singed at the tips, but Tom was completely covered in soot and was huddled over in pain.

"Set him down on the cot," I said, pulling my wand out from my robe and beginning to trace a curative incantation in the air as I hurried over to Tom's side. "What happened?"

"We had an appointment with the Star Spirits," Nozan explained as I got to work patching Tom up. "Finally making a breakthrough with them, got them to accept the Nightmares as a real threat based on the evidence I've brought forward to them, this meeting was to cement the Dreamer's position in using their help to-"

"Nozan, son, you're rambling again," I said calmly as my magic was already clearing away the burns on Tom's face.

"Right, sorry sir. By the time we arrived in their domain, Bowser's troops had already deployed. It was chaos in their realm sir, so Tom and I made a beeline to the Star Spirits' chamber. The Spirits were already weakened by Kammy Koopa's magic, and Bowser was closing in on the Star Rod. I, uh, I tried to talk Bowser down from it…"

I smirked despite myself. "You tried diplomacy with a card-carrying villain?"

"My focus in school was on politics, NOT combat magic!" Nozan defended. I shook my head at this.

"As thankful as I am that you got out of that situation in one piece," I said, putting my wand away as the last of Tom's burns healed away, "how did Tom get hit worse than you?"

"While I was talking with Bowser-"

"Which devolved into him bragging how he was the greatest villain ever once you gave him audience, no doubt?"

"…well, yes, but my point stands! Tom here decided to play hero and made a dive for the Star Rod. He froze like a deer in headlights, then shut his eyes and made some kind of wish on the Rod. Whatever it was, it wasn't to push back Bowser or protect himself since the next thing we knew, Bowser torched the kid with his flame breath and took the Star Rod back."

"So you grabbed Tom and made your way out of there before Kammy or Bowser could stop you?" I assumed. Nozan nodded in return.

"I'm certain Bowser did something to the Star Spirits while we were leaving to keep them more permanently indisposed," Nozan reasoned. "And he'll likely strike against the Mushroom Kingdom soon enough."

"I agree," I nodded, stepping away from the now stirring Tom. "I'd suggest setting up wards around the castle, but… well, he has the Star Rod. That'd be like building a wall of paper to defend against a rocket launcher."

I paused, mulling it over to myself. "Well then again, if it were enchanted paper… how enchanted would it have to be to… well, maybe an elasticity charm would-"

Nozan snapped his fingers. "Sir."

I shook my head. "Right, my deepest apologies."

"You've no reason to apologize to me, sir." Nozan bowed his head in respect to me. I've told Nozan countless times that we're equals in our current situation, but if he insisted on the formalities, who was I to argue? Still, one of these days I'm going to put something on his head when he bows to me just to see what he'll do.

"Sir," Nozan continued, "it's of my opinion that we should bunker down and stay out of Bowser's way until after his attack on the castle. Once we're in the clear, we can begin work on recovery and counter-measures."

"We should at least warn the Princess," I argued.

"But sir, Bowser has the Star Rod. If he sees any of us-"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," I interrupted, my voice a touch more firm. "Princess Peach has been far too kind to simply abandon her to the whim of the Koopa King. We may not be able to help her, but we can warn her."

"I…" Nozan looked away. "…I understand, sir. I disagree, but I understand."

"Bowser only saw you two, not me," I told him, patting his shoulder. "Stay here with Tom, I'll go to the castle."

"Yes sir," Nozan nodded. As I moved to leave the hut, Tom's voice croaked out something that sounded like "wait." I turned around and hurried back to his side.

"Easy there son," I said gently, pressing my hand against his forehead. "The curative charms have patched you up physically, but you're still going to be out of energy for a while longer."

"Merlin…" Tom said, straining to get the words out. "My… my wish…"

Nozan stepped forward. "Why in the world didn't you wish for a protective ward around yourself, or – or for Bowser and his armies to back off or-"

I held up my hand to silence Nozan without taking my eyes off Tom. Nozan's mouth immediately shut tight.

"What did you wish for, Tom?" I asked the young man. He looked at me and used the last of his energy to pass onto Nozan and me what it was he was willing to risk his life to wish for before passing out:

"I wished for… the Dream Keeper… to save us…"

* * *

 _ **Enter Alex:**_

* * *

"C'mon c'mon c'mon…" I muttered, palms gripped against the Wii-Mote as I guided Mario in his bubble through the mine field in space. "Almost, almost, almo – DANGIT!"

"Whoooooa!" Mario cried out as he was sucked into a conveniently placed black hole.

My name's Alex, and as you can clearly see, I'm not winning any awards for "Best Super Mario Galaxy player of 2009" anytime soon. I'm fourteen years old, Class of 2014, and ADD as heck. Well, not really. I mean, maybe I am? My mind jumps all over the darned place pretty much every second from when I wake up to when I fall asleep at night, so I'm not sure what you'd call that. Hyper? Hyper's kind of a physical thing I think, so… Wow, not even five paragraphs in and I'm already derailing the story. Nice job, Alex.

Anywho, I moved to turn off the Wii when I heard knocking on the wall. I turned my head to see my Mom peeking into the living room from the doorway to her own room.

"Just came in to tell you to start wrapping it up," she said. "School night and everything."

"Perfect timing, I was just about to rage quit," I said cheerfully, shutting the Wii off and unstrapping the Wii-Mote from my wrist. "I'd just pick another level if it weren't for the fact that it's a personal challenge at this point."

"Believe me, I understand," Mom smirked. "Got any breakfast requests in the morning?"

I knelt down to set the Wii-Mote next to the console. "We still have black beans?"

"All out, sorry."

"Darn. Fried eggs then, if you wanna."

"I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want to."

"Oh really?" I grinned. "In that case, steak and eggs for breakfast!"

"Great idea!" Mom nodded. "You go buy the steak."

I laughed. "Night, Mom."

"Night Alex." Mom closed the door behind her. I peeked in through the window to the room that used to be an indoor porch that we converted into a room for my ten year old brother, Joshua. He sat in bed, reading a book about dragons or something.

"Night Joshua."

"Night." Joshua didn't take his eyes off his book. After doing the usual pre-bed prep stuffs, I started up my CD player to keep some background noise going and tucked myself into bed. My buzzing mind kept playing back that Galaxy level over and over until, bit by bit, the buzzing in my brain slowed down and allowed me to drift off to sleep.

I didn't really become "aware" of what I was dreaming until I saw myself following behind Mario and Luigi through Toad Town. Everything seemed a lot more cartoon-y than in the games. Well, not that the games don't look like cartoons, but this looked more like… like it was physically drawn on paper, really. If that makes any sense. That's all I can properly describe how I saw what was before me, anyway.

Mario and Luigi were making their way towards Peach's Castle, myself following behind them. I wasn't sure if I was actually walking with them or if I was just, like, invisible and following them without them realizing. Anyway, as they entered the courtyard and walked towards the front gates, the gates opened to allow an elderly man with a rather long grey beard and dressed in blue robes to step outside. He walked on the path back to Toad Town, but paused when he saw us. He held out his hands to stop the Mario brothers.

"Luigi, Mario, fancy seeing you here," the man in blue robes said in a voice that just sounded like the man must've laughed all the time. "Here for the party, I assume?"

"Sure are, Merlin!" Luigi said enthusiastically as Mario just nodded. "Just got the invitation and we didn't want to be late."

"Don't worry, I warmed them up for you," Merlin joked to Luigi. "Enjoy the party."

"You're not staying?" Luigi asked.

"I have work to do, sad to say," Merlin shrugged. "Maybe next time!"

He stepped beside Mario and placed a hand on his shoulder. The second his hand made contact with Mario's shoulder, I felt a jolt run through my body. It felt like how you feel yourself kick when you snap awake, only I had the sensation while still remaining deep in the dream.

"You two have enough fun for me, alright?" he asked in good cheer, taking his hand off Mario's shoulder. The brothers nodded to Merlin and headed to the castle gates. Before heading away, Merlin made eye contact with me and winked.

The castle had a very low-key party atmosphere going on in it. There were many people from all over the Mushroom Kingdom – Toads, Koopas, Penguins, Mice… things – and they were all clearly excited to be there and chatting up with people from different places to get a sense of their different cultures, but everything felt relaxed like a family gathering rather than a straight-up party. Luigi stayed behind to mingle with the guests while Mario headed upstairs through the castle to see Princess Peach. I ended up following Mario as he made his way up the staircase.

The hustle and bustle of the party faded bit by bit until the sounds of the people attending were barely audible. We were in a long hallway, with massive windows lining the wall and letting light in while still providing the sort of angled light that lets you see dust particles drifting about in the air. Princess Peach was looking over the great view these windows provided before she heard Mario enter. Face lighting up, she approached Mario and started making small talk with him. Well, to be more accurate, she talked to him while Mario kind of nodded in response. I don't think Mario talked.

Soon after Princess Peach invited Mario to join her on the balcony, the entire castle started to shake violently. From outside of the windows, I could see the castle slowly start to rise into the air. While Mario hurried over to the window to see what the heck was going on, Princess Peach wasted no time and hurried over to some hanging drapes, pushing them out of the way to reveal an intercom system. She switched it on and began issuing evacuation orders. Soon after, I could see from outside the castle some of the people inside jumping out to the ground while it was still close enough and, once high enough for that to hurt them, those on ground started unrolling tarps and blowing up air bags to help the remaining people inside of the castle to jump out to safety.

The castle safely evacuated, Princess Peach replaced the drapes and looked over to Mario. He, in turn, looked to her in grave worry, nodding to the window. Princess Peach approached and looked down to see that the two of them were now floating in orbit far above the clouds of the Mushroom Kingdom. No amount of air bags could save them if they decided to jump out then. Princess Peach placed a hand on Mario's arm in worry. Mario replied in kind by taking her hand in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Mario turned his gaze back to the window. His eyes widened at the approach of Bowser in his Koopa Car and Kammy flying right behind him. Throwing his arms around Peach's waist, he dived out of the way of the window in time for it to crash inward. Broken glass shards scattered all over the floor as Bowser flew in, jumping out of his Koopa Car and landing flat on his feet in the halls of Peach's castle. With a glare, Mario got up from the ground, standing in front of Peach and holding a single arm out, as if silently saying "You're not laying a hand on her."

The two started fighting right there in the middle of the hallway, Peach pushing herself back to her feet and myself just standing there, watching while unnoticed by anyone else in the dream. When a break showed itself in the battle, Bowser took advantage by pulling out a magical rod with a star on the tip and waving it over himself. The rod glowed, and soon Bowser himself was brimming with some kind of potent magical energy. Mario hurried to jump on Bowser's head again, but the Koopa King didn't even flinch. Laughing, Bowser proceeded to beat the ever loving crap out of Mario, his speed and strength seeming to have been enhanced by the rod. It didn't take long for the plumber to succumb to his wounds and, while fighting for every second to stay awake and fight, he fell first to his knees, then flat on his face. He was out cold.

Princess Peach was horrified. She ran over to Mario's side and shook him, begging for him to get up. Bowser laughed, saying that so long as he has the Star Rod in his possession, all of his wishes will come true and no one will be able to stop him. With the wave of the rod, Mario was suddenly ripped right out of Peach's grasp and thrown out of the broken window. I found myself flying out the window and after Mario as he was falling… falling… falling through the starry sky, back towards the clouds that covered the Mushroom Kingdom. I felt a buzzing running through my head, and smaller "kicks" kept happening through my body, building in intensity. I kept swearing that at some point I was going to jolt awake.

Mario passed through the clouds. I followed behind him.

I felt a sudden POWERFUL jolt run through me and my mind snapped awake.

I felt the water particles of the clouds running across my face and the intense wind rushing by my ears as I fell out from the bottom of the clouds. I could feel the adrenalin rushing through every inch of my body as I saw the ground below approach me, faster and faster.

I was there. I was ACTUALLY there, falling through the air and towards the ground without a parachute or anything to protect me.

So, I did what I think any other fourteen year old in my shoes would have done:

First, I screamed.

Then, I passed out.


	2. Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Ceiling

_**Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Ceiling**_

* * *

The first thing I remembered after passing out in the air was the darkness of unconsciousness. I was still passed out, but for some reason I was actually aware. Within my mind's eye, the darkness was parted by the ghostly image of a floating star creature with eyes and a thick, grey mustache.

"Mario…" the voice spoke out to me. "Can you hear me, Mario…?"

I blinked at this image. The star creature flinched back in surprise.

"…you're not Mario," he said in confusion. "You're wearing his skin, but your soul is…"

I tilted my head at this.

"…I'm Eldstar, a Star Spirit," the creature explained, seemingly a lot more wary of me. "I have something very important to discuss with you… but sadly, I lack the strength to remain here for long. Lost soul residing in Mario's body… you're all we have. If you're willing to help us, please… come to Shooting Star Summit. We Star Spirits will be waiting to hear your answer…"

And just like that, the star creature was gone as quickly as it had arrived. The darkness of unconsciousness soon gave way to the tinted darkness of closed eyes with light shining directly on them. It was a struggle, but I forced my eyes open.

That was a very unfamiliar ceiling.

I tried to ask myself where I was, but all that came out of my mouth was a low groaning gurgle, as if I hadn't used my voice for some time. That's when I realized just how dry my mouth felt, how sore my throat was. Once I became aware of that, my thirst hit me like a train. My entire body felt like a dried out sponge, my skin tight on my body and screaming for water of some kind. I pushed myself out of the bed to fulfill my body's needs.

Now, you'd think that by this point I'd have realized something was very wrong. But, no. Being the absolute genius that I was, it took my feet hitting the ground and the resulting dizzy spell followed by an intense pain in my head like a rubber band strung too tight around my forehead for me to realize "Gee, maybe I'm not physically well right now!" The dizziness was far too much to keep myself standing, so I soon found myself collapsing to the ground with a very loud THUD. Everything was blurry, even the faintest light making my headache even worse. I heard a door opening, and soon felt a pair of arms around me as I was helped back to my feet. I instinctively reached my arms over to wrap them around the shoulders of whoever was lifting me.

"Are you okay?" I heard the friendly person's voice ask. My vision was far too blurry to see exactly who they were. They didn't sound like either Mom or Joshua, but it was still a friendly voice and that was something I needed more than anything. I worked like hell to make some kind of noise with my voice, ANY kind of noise. The sandpaper that was my throat fought against this, my dried lips threatening to crack open at my first word.

"Water…" was all I managed to get through my lips. The next thing I knew, I was being led through a door and outside. The air smelt crisp and felt warm on my skin, like the few beautiful days in the transition between Spring and Summer. Part of me wondered why it felt like this when it was October. The rest of me, which was far more vocal, was only focused on the thirst and headache running through my body.

Voices sounded all around me. Some male, some female. Some were old, some young. I was surrounded on all sides by blurs, and they led me into another house and sat me at a table. The next thing I knew, a straw was being pressed between my lips and I started sucking down the water bits at a time. As tempted as I was to drain the whole thing in one gulp, I remembered clearly a book I read back in the third grade about how Alexander the Great's soldiers, after traveling through the desert and coming across sources of water, ended up killing themselves by drinking too much too quickly. So I paced myself as well as I could. With each swallow, my headache flared worse and worse. I remember the last time I felt this bad – I had gone a whole day without eating anything and…!

"Food… please…" I croaked out, my mouth still fighting to keep my words and my water held within my body. The blurs around me spoke between one another and moved, and soon some… THING was sitting on the table in front of me. It was mushroom-shaped, and if I didn't know any better I'd say it was actually a giant mushroom. Still, food was food, and I grabbed it and began biting into it. The texture was like bread, and the taste was… hard to describe. It was… savory? But it didn't taste like meat or anything like that. In any case, the more I ate, the hungrier I realized I was. With each little bite I took, the next bite became bigger, and then bigger, until soon I was pressing the thing fully against my face and just gnawing through the whole thing, forgetting any and all table manners.

Usually it took time after eating for myself to start feeling better, but this… whatever it was, it seemed to work like magic. The more I ate, the better I felt. Soon, my hands were pressed against my mouth and the whole of the food was gone. My headache completely vanished, and while my skin still felt too tight around me and my lips were still dry as all get-out, I felt MUCH better.

"I… wow…" I said, my voice coming back to me a little bit at a time as I recovered. "That was… that was amazing. Thank you, whoever you are, for-"

That's when I looked up to see who all was surrounding me: six short brown creatures without any hands and a person with a mushroom top instead of hair.

My throat hated me a second later when I screamed, and my back was in agreement as I kicked away and toppled over onto the ground. I backed up into the far wall, looking between these strange creatures. "Wh-wh-what ARE you?!"

The seven looked between each other in confusion and concern.

"Mario, are you… feeling alright?" the creature with the mushroom top hair asked me.

"Mario…?" I blinked at him. "What are you talking abo…"

I slowed to a stop as my eyes landed on a mirror hanging on the wall to my right. I blinked at my reflection. _No,_ I thought. _No, that… that CAN'T be…_

Pushing myself back to my feet, I hurried over to the mirror to reaffirm what I thought I was looking at. Sure enough, the reflection looking back at me wasn't that of a fourteen year old with curly brown hair and green eyes. Rather, the face in the mirror was that of… of Mario, from the games. I held up a shaky hand, looking down at it to see the hand donned in a white glove with a red sleeve tucked under it.

"No… no way…" I muttered, stepping away from the mirror and looking over myself. "I'm… Mario?"

I looked up at the creatures. Yeah… now that I took a closer look at them, the mushroom hair was a Toad and the brown armless creatures were all Goombas. Mario characters. I was in the Mario world.

"This is… this is unreal…" I shook my head. Was I dreaming? I pinched my arm. Ow. Not waking up. And it all felt… far, FAR too real for it to just be a dream. Usually when I slept, it was like a thick fog was over my mind. I went along with what happened because the dream logic made sense to me. But here, now… It felt real, I could think as if it were real, it was…

"I need to sit down," I finally said, walking shakily over to the table and sitting down in another chair. I rested my elbows on the table and lay my head in my upturned palms.

"…do you think he has amnesia or something?" a Toad asked.

"Maybe," one of the younger Goombas said, this one wearing a blue baseball cap. "Uh… here, I'll try talking to him."

The blue-capped Goomba pulled up a chair and sat down beside me. "Uh… hi."

"Hi," I replied, parting my fingers and turning my head to see him. "Sorry, I'm… not all here at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeep."

"Do you, uh… do you know who you are?" the Goomba tried. The other Goombas and the Toad stood at the far side of the table, watching our conversation intently.

"Well I… I thought I did," I said, deciding to play along with the amnesia angle here. Frankly, it was the only freaking thing that I could grasp with any degree of sense, so I was going to use it for all it was worth. "You said my name's… Mario, right?"

The Goomba nodded. "Yeah! Do you remember anything else?"

"Um… you're a Goomba," I said, pointing to him.

"Name's Goombario," the Goomba said with a nod. "I, uh, I'm kind of your biggest fan."

"Goombario!" a female Goomba wearing a head wrap scolded. "Now is really NOT the best time!"

"S-sorry Mom…" Goombario said sheepishly.

"It's okay, really," I said to Goombario's mother. "I'm flattered, honestly… although it'd probably mean a bit more if I knew what exactly I did to warrant having a fan."

"Oh, what HAVEN'T you done?" Goombario gushed. "I mean, you've fought Bowser HOW many times?! During the Koopa Rebellion, you single-handedly took down Bowser and helped the Goomba and Koopa race redeem themselves in the eyes of the Mushroom Kingdom! Without you, people would probably still be thinking that we're lowlife criminals! And that's not even counting all of the times you've rescued Princess Peach from Bowser's evil clutches!"

I nodded along. The "Koopa Rebellion" was alien to me, but I could follow the basics: Mario fights bad guys, Bowser wrecks crap, Princess Peach gets kidnapped…

Princess Peach gets kidnapped…!

I suddenly stood, the memories of what I saw while invisible in the castle rushing back to me. "Princess Peach!" I cried out. "Bowser took her and the castle! She needs help!"

"Slow down there," a Goomba with a thick black mustache said, walking around the table and nudging at me to have me sit down. "We still don't know how scrambled your head is. Can you tell us anything else?" As he asked this, the Toad walked over and pushed the cup and straw full of water to me.

"Thanks," I said to the Toad, still being very careful how much water I sipped. "Okay, let's see… I'm Mario. I fight Bowser. I save Princess Peach. I have a brother, Luigi. And we are in the… Mushroom Kingdom?"

Goombario nodded in acknowledgement. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Let's see…" I closed my eyes in thought. "There was a party happening at Peach's castle. The castle was lifted into the air."

"The castle was WHAT?!" Goombario gaped. The fatherly Goomba shushed him, then motioned for me to continue.

"Peach ordered an evacuation. Bowser came in to wreck the place. We fought, and Bowser… he used… SOMETHING to beat me. He threw me out of the window, and I passed out as I fell to the ground." I blinked, looking to the Goomba family. "…I fell from outer space. How did I survive?"

"We don't know," Goombario's mother shook her head. "Goombaria here, she-"

"You were laying there in the clearing after the earthquake hit!" the youngest Goomba with a bow in her hair interrupted. "I, I went out there to see what the noise was, and you were just laying there and I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't wake up and you looked really hurt and and and-"

"Goombaria, breathe honey," an elderly Goomba with a bonnet on her head said to Goombaria. "You were unconscious for DAYS, and we were starting to think you'd never wake up!"

"Wait, days?!" I asked, taken aback. "Geeze, I guess that's why I was so thirsty… but that still doesn't explain how I survived."

"We're not so sure about that either," an elderly Goomba with a green fez said. "But I say you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Goompa's right Mario," Goombario nodded. "Considering everything wrong that's been going down, we should be thankful at least one thing's gone right."

"Wait, what's gone wrong?" I asked. "Other than, you know, the obvious stuff with Peach kidnapped and Bowser deciding to go super powerful."

"There was a MASSIVE Earthquake the same day you fell in the clearing, like Goombaria said," the mother explained. "We lost contact with Toad Town and have been trapped in our little corner of the woods for the past few days."

"I was actually just finishing repairing the gate leading to Toad Town when you woke up," the father said. "On that note, while you still need time to fully recover, I understand the urgency of rescuing the Princess. I'd better get back to work fixing that gate."

"And I'd better get back to fixing that veranda," Goompa added as the father left through the front door. "Don't want the thing falling from under someone's feet as soon as they step foot outside. Will you be okay, Mario?"

"I already feel WORLDS better, but thank you sir," I smiled at the elderly Goomba. With a nod, he made his way to the back door of the house.

"I'll go ahead and get back to my house as well," the Toad said, moving to the front door. "If you feel like you need to rest at any time, Mario, just come on over. I'll be more than happy to give you a place to rest."

"I, uh…" I rubbed the back of my head, looking over the remaining Goombas in the house. "I honestly can't thank you guys enough. You've been so kind to me when I needed it the most."

"Dude, you're MARIO for Pete's sake!" Goombario said enthusiastically. "It's the least we could do for you!"

"You really have no idea how much good you've done for everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom, especially for the Goombas," Goombario's mother added. "I'd say this is returning a long-overdue favor, but really, what's so strange about doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do?"

"Well, I…" I rubbed the back of my head, completely at a loss for words. Not used to wearing a cap, I ended up pushing Mario's red hat further down my head and covered my eyes with the bill accidentally. I hurriedly pulled it back to the proper position, no doubt messing up Mario's hair in the process. "Thank you. Just… just thank you. If it's not too much to impose on you guys, there is one more favor I'd like to ask."

"Anything!" Goombario and Goombaria said at the same time. I blinked at this enthusiasm.

"Um… okay. While a lot of stuff is… coming back to me, I'm still drawing a blank on… well… exactly where we are. Heck, I don't even remember where I live. So, uh… Could someone be my guide or at least draw me up a map to…" Within my mind's eye, I could clearly see the faded image of the star creature speaking to me. "…Shooting Star Summit?"

"Oh, that's just north of Toad Town!" Goombario said cheerfully. "We go to Toad Town all the time for supplies, so I know the way! I can take you whenever you're-"

"Oh no you're not!" Goombaria glared at her brother. "I wanna go on an adventure with Mario! Besides, I saw him first!"

"Saw him first…? You rescued him from the clearing, yeah!" Goombario glared back. "You did your part, now it's my turn! Besides, I'd be WAY more useful to Mario!"

"Just because you have the Tattle power doesn't mean you're super amazing at adventuring, buttface!"

"Who are you calling buttface, snot-nose?!"

"So which of you two are going to propose to Mario, now?" the elderly Goomba with the bonnet asked with a smirk. The mother had to turn away to keep from laughing herself.

"I think that's my cue to step out," I added, standing to my feet. "It's fine, really," I added when it looked like the family was about to stop me. "Just need some fresh air."

Leaving the Goomba siblings to their bickering, I stepped outside. The bright blue sky and beautifully green lawn complemented each other, the visuals hitting me just as hard as the fresh air did. There was no doubt about it: This FELT like a beautiful late spring/early summer day. On top of that, it felt real, intense even. Not intense as in "the colors and smells were all pushing into me at all angles and I was bleeding because of how EXTREME it was!" but rather intense as in… okay, you know how when you dream, you can feel stuff? But it's never, like, REAL sensations? You can smell a pie cooking or get your hand cut on glass, but those sensations are more… "washed out" as opposed to the "neon" sensations of smelling a REAL pie, or getting a REAL cut on your hand.

These colors? These smells? They were real, they were the neon colors instead of the washed-out ones.

 _This is… intense,_ I thought to myself as I knelt down, rubbing my hand through the grass. While Mario's glove protected my skin from feeling the damp nature of the grass, I could still feel it prick and move about around my hand. _This isn't a dream. Even REALLY strong lucid dreams aren't like this. I'm actually in the Mushroom Kingdom. I'm actually in Mario's body._

I was in a curious state between panic at suddenly winding up in a whole other world and excited at being given the opportunity to embrace an adventure in another world like I've always fantasized about when the pounding of a hammer jolted me back to my senses. I turned my head to see the Goomba father holding a hammer in his mouth, pounding at the nails of a white gate leading away from the premises. Blinking, I walked over to him, watching him swing his head over and over to hit the hammer against the nails.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked him. Blinking, the father turned his gaze to me before dropping the hammer on the grass.

"Not at all," he shook his head. "You've probably already noticed, but Goombas don't exactly have your fancy arms or hands or anything of that sort. So Goombas have more powerful jaws than Koopas or Toads do to grip things with more strength."

"What about, you know, the whole sanitation thing?" I asked, eyeing the hammer laying on the ground.

"Goombas on average have cleaner mouths than other species," the father explained. "…and copious amounts of mouthwash certainly helps." This last bit he added with a laugh. I smiled back at this.

"Would you like some help, sir?" I offered, reaching down to pick up the hammer.

"Oh, no need!" he shoo'd my hand away with a foot. "I'm just about done, actually. In fact…"

He leaned against the fence, and it creaked open with a satisfying sound. Just enough to sound like a well-worn fence, not enough to need oiling just yet. The father made a "tsk" sound with his mouth.

"It STILL makes that sound even after all this time…" He muttered to himself before turning back to me. "Well Mario, I'm going to assume you're heading out to save the Princess?"

"That's the plan, but I'm kind of waiting for my guide," I said with a light laugh. "Although right now there seems to be some confusion for who my guide's going to be."

"That's a nice way of saying my kids are fighting again!" the father laughed. "Want me to go talk to them?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary sir," I shook my head. "Really, if you could just direct me to Toad Town, I can get directions from there."

"You don't remember where… Right, amnesia." The Father turned to the gate. "It's a straight shot from here if you follow the path. You'll reach a bridge, and-"

"Ye he he he heeee!" a raspy laugh from in the air caught our attention. We both looked up to see…

"Kamek?!" I took a step back in surprise at the sight of the Magikoopa sitting atop her broom. I realized after a second, no, that couldn't be Kamek. He always wore blue robes, whereas this Magikoopa was wearing purple robes. Plus, that voice was distinctly feminine while Kamek was definitely a guy.

"Aw, did a poor widdle plumber get a few screws knocked loose when he fell from Bowser's castle?" the Magikoopa teased. "I suppose re-introductions ARE in order, then!"

She cleared her throat, posing on top of her broomstick. "I am the Great! The Powerful! The Ever-Youthful! The Beautiful! The Unsurmountable!"

"The Modest?" I crossed my arms.

"Kammy Koo-" She stopped in her tracks, shooting me a glare when she realized what I said. "…Kammy Koopa!" she continued after a second. Pulling out her wand, she shot it into the air. Confetti burst from the tip over her head with a "fwee!" sound playing for emphasis.

"Was the confetti really necessary?" I asked as the Goomba father backed away, eyes wide in horror at the sight of this woman. Kammy scoffed at me, turning her head upward.

"Bah, what do you know about showmanship?" she asked. "You are but a plumber! I? I am a thespian! Yes, my magic and my beauty are matched only by my ability to…"

As she continued on, I looked down to see the hammer laying on the grass. I bent down to pick it up, feeling its weight in my hand. I looked back up at Kammy, who was still yapping away without paying any attention to me. I took a step back, pulled back my arm and tossed the hammer right at the old hag.

CRACK!

"OW!" Kammy rubbed the now sore spot on her head, bending over on her broom.

"Yeah, I can tell you're a villain," I smirked. "You just don't know when to shut up. Why don't you go back to Bowser and tell him I'm coming to take Peach's castle back?"

"You insolent little…" Kammy glared daggers at me. "Were I not working under a STRICT schedule right now, I'd go down there and teach you a lesson!"

"Yeah, and with that monologue of yours going on and on, I can see just how tight a schedule you're on," I replied, rolling my eyes. "If you came to see if I'm alive, go ahead and tell Bowser I'm gunning for him."

"Oh, speaking of Bowser…" Kammy sneered, waving her wand in the air. "HERE'S A GIFT FROM HIM!"

With a poof of purple smoke, a yellow block appeared in the air and fell towards us. I could feel something biting on the back of my overalls and pull me back just as the yellow block slammed into the ground, crushing the gate and blocking the path out. With a satisfied cackle, Kammy flew off into the distance.

"Ow…" I pushed myself up, looking over to the father Goomba. "Thank you, sir." I turned my gaze to the yellow block. "Um… how long were you working on-"

"Twelve hours a day. Four days." The father's voice sounded strained, as if coming from clenched teeth. "Please. Don't even say the word 'Gate' to me right now."

I opened my mouth to reply when the sound of some wires snapping and something very big crashing sounded from the house. Screaming soon followed. The father and I looked at each other for a second before jumping to our feet and running to the house. Once inside, we saw the four other Goombas staring out the back door that opened into thin air.

"What happened?!" the father asked, looking around. "Where's the veranda? Where's Goompa?!"

"Th-there was a crash!" Goombario said. "And, and something snapped! Goompa screamed, we went to the door, and we saw them fall! I, I, I think he may be hurt!"

I looked out the door to the air. Stepping closer, I looked down to see ground a short distance down.

"…Mario?" Goombaria asked as I took a few steps back. "Mario, what are you doing?"

"I'll be back with your grandfather," I said, taking a running start for the door.

"WAIT NO STOP MARIO-!"

The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, seeming to hang for a second before hurdling down towards the ground after the crashed veranda and Goompa.

And only halfway down to the ground did it occur to me how stupid of an idea this was.


	3. Chapter 2: Fan Favorite

**Author's Note: While the very basic reasoning behind Alex's actions at the beginning of this chapter are sound, neither he nor I are experts at parkour. If you're going to start jumping off heights and going hardcore parkour, please do your research and learn how to do it properly so you don't hurt yourself.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2: Fan Favorite_**

* * *

Midway through the fall that I swore at the time seemed like a good idea, I remembered watching a YouTube video about Parkour runners and the different strategies they used in free running. One that I remembered clearly was rolling on contact with the ground to distribute the impact shock across as wide of an area as possible to leave as little damage on the body as possible. My mind flashed first to Link in Wind Waker negating fall damage by rolling on impact, then to Mario 64's severe fall damage penalty. Reasoning that I was in the Mushroom Kingdom which was the closest I'd ever come to actually being in a video game, I turned myself as I made contact with the ground hoping for a happy medium between Mario 64 and Wind Waker with heavy preference to Wind Waker.

The split second when the side of my body first made contact with the ground would have been the worst due to the sudden impact if my body had enough time to register the sensation. Instead, my body began to roll on the ground due to how I had positioned myself and I started going sick from how quickly everything spun around me. I felt a sharp jolt in my back as I slammed into a nearby tree, forcing my roll to a stop. I fell flat on my face.

"Okay…" I pushed myself up with the arm that felt less enflamed. "Status check, Alex… Am I dead? No. Good job there. Next item on the checklist, is anything broken?"

At this point I stood myself up, bouncing a bit on my feet. My whole body felt raw, but the stinging sensation was fading and it was clear my body made it out in one piece.

"Negative on that one as well," I muttered to myself. "Ooookay Alex, that was probably THE dumbest thing you've ever done. 'Look before you leap' is a phrase for a very good reason, let's try to follow it next ti…"

I slowed to a stop when I realized I was facing the broken remains of the veranda. I hurried over, starting to pull the wood away from the pile piece by piece.

"Goompa?" I called out to the pile. "Goompa! Can you hear me? Are you hurt?!"

"Over here, son!"

I turned my head to see Goompa standing on a path nearby, a bit of a ways away from the rubble. With a relieved sigh, I hurried over to the elderly Goomba.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "How'd you pull yourself away from the rubble?"

"Wasn't in it," Goompa said with a groan, twisting himself to pop his back. "Kicked off when things started to fall, landed a bit away. My back's been better, but I'll live."

"Thank God," I sighed with relief, looking up to the house far above our heads. "And now the million dollar question, how do we get back?"

"There's a path that leads back to the house," Goompa said, turning his head to the side. "Only one problem: THAT'S standing in the way."

I turned my head to what Goompa was looking at only to see another one of those yellow blocks barricading the way.

"Of course," I sighed, shaking my head. "Looks like Kammy got busy while she was here."

"Who?"

"Bowser's lackey, a witch. Maybe we can climb over this?"

"That's not going to…" Goompa started as I approached the block. It was a full head taller than I was, so I reached my arms up and gripped the edge with my fingers. The surface was slick, and my hands fell off as soon as my feet were no longer on the ground. Grumbling to myself, I took a few steps back and made a running start, jumping into the air to grab onto the block from a higher point.

Good news: I jumped pretty darned high. Not exactly sure HOW high because I was focused on the block, but higher than I'd usually jump.

Bad news: I slammed into the block with my torso resting on top of it. I was soon sliding back. I clawed my hands against the surface to try and stay on, only to hasten my slide off the top of the block and flat onto my back.

"…poo," I said, laying on my back and staring at the sky. Goompa walked over and looked down at my face.

"Clearly, climbing is out," he said helpfully. I shook my head and sat myself up, looking around the area.

"And we can't walk around it, either," I noted. "The hills here are too steep and they cover every path except the one that this block is keeping covered."

"Hm… what if we broke the block?" Goompa suggested as I stood back onto my feet. I walked over and gave the yellow block a solid kick. The block replied with a thick thud sound, but otherwise didn't move.

"Seems pretty sturdy," I said. "We'd need something pretty strong to break this thing. Maybe if we started with a chisel, we could-"

"Got it!" Goompa interrupted. "We can use the hammer! I was using it to repair the veranda before it fell, and it may just be strong enough to break this block down!"

I looked the large, sturdy block over once before turning to Goompa and giving him a look. "A… hammer."

"Yeah, a hammer!"

"Completely alone, without any more tools to help break into the block?"

"Well… pretty much!"

Goompa must've realized at that point the look on my face because his own expression changed as he started verbally backing up. "Oh, not the kind of hammer that you're thinking about! We only have one of those laying around the house, and Goompapa was busy using it to fix the fence. So, I went into our attic and pulled out an old Combat Hammer used back during the Koopa Rebellion. A little big for the job, but it got it done. If we can find that hammer, it should be strong enough to break this block!"

"…" I turned back to the yellow block. "You sure about that? That thing looks pretty darned solid. Wouldn't it take an explosive's amount of force to break it? I don't think ANY hammer, combat or otherwise, could take care of it."

"Do you trust me?"

This question caught me off guard, as did the sincere look on Goompa's face when I turned back to face him.

"I…" I hesitated for a second before sighing. "No, you're right. You guys did save my life, after all. Besides, I think it's clear I don't know anything about how things work right now, so you know better about this stuff than I do."

"Oh don't talk yourself down like that!" Goompa said encouragingly, grinning now. "I'm sure you'll adjust in no time flat! Now c'mon, I think the hammer fell in this clearing over here."

"Alri – wait a second, how the heck could the hammer have fallen all the way over THERE?!"

"I kicked it away when desperately trying to push away from the falling veranda," Goompa shrugged.

"That doesn't even BEGIN to…" I stopped myself, covering my eyes with a hand and taking a breath. "You know what? Nevermind. I'm going by your judgement here."

"Smart move. If we hurry with our search, we should find it in no time flat!"

Goompa hurried towards the clearing at a pace much quicker than I'd think an elderly Goomba who just recently survived a fall would have. Shaking my head, I followed briskly behind with only one last glance back to the yellow block.

* * *

 ** _Enter Coron:_**

* * *

The head of the once arrogant Nightmare made a satisfying crack as I smashed it against the edge of the table. The jet black, inky blood that pooled from the crack this impact made only when it hit the table, as it was hidden against his likewise pitch black flesh when pooled against his head. My black clawed hand still holding his head, I pulled him up to see his two large, bright white eyes staring back at me in fear.

"S-sir…" the Nightmare said, voice shaking. "Please. Please, sir. What did I do to deserve this?"

Choosing not to answer, I dug my clawed thumb into one of his eyes, my other fingers sinking deeper into the gash I opened in his skull. He screamed, writhing in agony for a full three seconds before I squeezed my clawed hand shut. His skull, as well as his entire body, exploded into black particles which floated in the air for a moment before absorbing itself into my closed fist. I shut my own white eyes and took a deep breath, feeling my body fill with the energy of my newly slain prey and my mind filling with his memories.

Huh. So the bastard DID do it after all. Lucky break.

I opened my eyes and turned to the crowd surrounding me on all sides. The mess hall fit roughly five hundred Nightmares at once, and they were all staring at me in a mix of admiration and fear.

"Listen up!" I barked, standing on top of the table to address everyone in the hall. "The Alpha Nightmare who once stood before you was guilty of tampering with the programming Pods we use for the newly Infected! Seems someone here had the bright idea to assign loyalty to themselves rather than your Alpha-Superior or the Lord of Nightmares! So allow me to make this abundantly clear: Loyalty is expected from you! Disloyalty is the greatest crime you can commit! Try to cross me or the Lord again and I won't be as nice to you as I was to our recently deceased friend here. Am I understood?!"

"Yes Alpha!" the crowd before me replied. My message delivered, I sat down where the traitor once sat and started eating his untouched curry.

I am Nightmare Unit Ω-BLU-002, codename Coron. I am a Weapon of Mass Destruction, a perfect clone of the Lord of Nightmares Himself, grown from the finest Breeder of the last generation. My genes are perfect, my instinct honed, and my capabilities deadly. For these reasons among others, I am marked by the Lord of Nightmares Himself as the sole Alpha-Superior Nightmare, the only unit that takes direct command above all other Nightmares and acts beneath only the Lord of Nightmares. When I arrive to a unit, the previous Alpha steps down and acts as my second-in-command until I make my leave. That was the status of the dumbass who thought it a bright idea to revive his Alpha status prematurely by tampering with the programming pods and organizing a coup.

It's almost a shame that I found him out so early. It would have been a lot of fun to take on an army by myself.

"Sir."

I looked up from the tray of food. The majority of the Nightmares in the mess hall had returned to their places to eat, but one Nightmare stood before my table. Her flesh was a dark purple rather than jet black, indicating her status as an Infected as opposed to a Pureblood Nightmare.

"You have my attention," I told her.

"The Lord of Nightmares has arrived to our sector," the Infected said. "He sent me to tell you that he's waiting for your presence by the programming pods."

I dabbed my mouth with a napkin before standing up. "Understood. I'll be on my way."

I stepped to move out of the mess hall, but paused as I passed the Infected before turning to face her. "By the way, just out of curiosity. How recently did you come out of the pods?"

"Just an hour ago, sir," the Infected said, turning to face me fully. "The Lord of Nightmares Himself released me to see that I deliver this message."

"Good to know," I said with a nod before transforming my clawed hand into a blade and stabbing it through her throat. She gurgled for only about six seconds, the pitch black blood pooling in her mouth before she too exploded into particles. I shut my eyes, feeling another burst of energy as she was absorbed into me.

Oh. Based on her memories, the programming alterations were already fixed by the time she was released from her pod.

Oh well. Can't be right EVERY time.

I made my way through the halls on my way from the Mess Hall to the Programming room. I looked out the windows as I walked to see the ocean of Dreams drifting by lazily, unaware of what was going on outside of the little bubbles of their worlds. The building we were in was one of the mass manufactured Nightmare housing constructs designed to station and train Nightmares between Dreams for easy deployment and retrieval. This recent creation made it much easier to enact mass invasions and retrieve quick, efficient reconnaissance information than it would be had we all been stationed back in one of the Nightmare home worlds or a conquered Dream. Seeing the Dreams pass by would have been one of the benefits of living on this station.

If, you know, any of us had a Soul to enjoy it with. Being Soulless drones, Nightmares don't understand concepts like "beauty" or "art" or anything of the sort, it's all meaningless to us. Sure, we can be satisfied, even bordering on happy when we achieve a goal or do something we enjoy – for example, killing the bastard back in the mess hall and seeing the fear in his face as I took his life away – but true joy at something more abstract is perfectly alien to us.

I finally walked into the programming room. It was rounded, as opposed to the perfectly square or rectangular rooms that made up the rest of the complex, and lining the walls were clear pods that contained the purple-skinned Infected. Each one had their eyes forced open, transparent images flashing before their gaze as sharpened needles drilled into their temples sent electrical impulses directly into their brains to reinforce the programming. Standing in the center of the room with His back to me was the Lord of Nightmares, observing the pods at work with a bemused look on His face. I got down on one knee and bowed my head to Him once I'd fully entered the room.

"My Lord," I said to catch His attention. "I have arrived as You instructed."

"A pleasure to have you, Coron," the Lord of Nightmares said, His gaze still on the pods with His back to me. "A marvel of engineering, aren't they? And to think, we used to have to worry about keeping the Infected locked up while they moved past their feral stage. Now we just stick them in and let my assistant's programming do the rest for us. It's so much more… humane this way, wouldn't you say?"

"Humane or not, it certainly makes the process much more efficient for us."

"Right, right…" the Lord turned to face me, leaning on His cane. "Efficiency. You sound just like my assistant. In any case, I'll get to the point: The Dream Keeper is awakening."

My head rose to look Him in the face. "The Dream Keeper? Sir, that's impossible. The Dream Keeper is dead, I killed her myself. I destroyed the Sword of Dreams with my own two hands to make certain another couldn't be chosen!"

"A VERY impressive feat, might I add," the Lord of Nightmares noted with a nod. "Frankly, I didn't think it possible to disconnect the Sword of Dreams from the Dream Keeper's spirit. A valiant effort on your part, but unfortunately, it seems a new Dream Keeper has been recruited by a… third party."

"The Dreamers?" I asked, standing as the Lord nodded His head for me to stand beside him.

"One thing at a time, Coron," the Lord of Nightmares lightly chastised. "First, the Dream Keeper. Good news, the Sword of Dreams still seems desynched from them, and their signature suggests they're still tethered to their physical form in the Realm of Waking."

"So their powers have yet to awaken, making them an easy target," I reasoned. "And the bad news?"

"They're the Dream Keeper of the Legend," the Lord of Nightmares answered. "You know, the one destined to face me in mortal combat over the fate of the Dream Realm?"

"Oh, _lovely_ ," I moaned, covering my face with a hand. "It gets better, doesn't it?"

"Doesn't it always? The Dream Keeper's appearance and signature also tell us the Sword of Dreams may re-synch with the Dream Keeper's spirit if they're allowed to tap into their full power."

"Making the very difficult process of destroying that damned blade pretty much useless."

"Don't cut yourself short." The Lord of Nightmares places a gloved hand on my shoulder. "The fact that the Sword of Dreams has been desynched at all gives us an unprecedented advantage. Furthermore, there's more good news: We've zeroed-in on the Dream Keeper's signature and found not only the Dream they're residing in, but the Dreamers who escaped our grasp when we took over the Dreamer Base as well."

I did a double take. "We've found Merlin?!"

The Lord of Nightmares nodded with a bemused smile.

"…there's another catch, isn't there?"

The Lord of Nightmares nodded once again with a more neutral expression. "This particular dream is one of the half dozen the Dreamers protected behind a Door of Sealing. The Door's magic prevents anyone or anything entering or leaving the Dream without express permission from its Dream Guardians."

"So sending in an army is clearly out…" I muttered. "Wait. My Lord, doesn't that Door link back to its sister in the Dreamer's Base? The Doors may be sealed by the Sword of Dreams, but if Ximarim were to drill a hole through it…"

"Easier said than done," the Lord of Nightmares replied. "These Doors were created and sealed by the Sword of Dreams itself. It can be done, but not without costs."

The Lord of Nightmares held out His cane, and a Corridor of Darkness tore itself through the air before us.

"In any case," He said, "it'd be for the best if we were to make ourselves available when she finally does manage to tear open a hole."

I nodded to the Lord, hurrying through the Corridor that connected this base with the Dreamer's Base. The Lord of Nightmares followed behind me at a casual pace.

* * *

 ** _Enter Alex:_**

* * *

"Ert…!" My hands were wrapped around the handle of what was apparently the combat hammer. Goompa had been the one who spotted it caught in the branches of a nearby tree, which led into the position I was in now: Feet braced against the trunk of the tree, hands gripped around the handle and Goompa gripping the back strap of my overalls in his teeth and pulling me to add traction to this effort.

"Just… a little… more…!" Goompa grunted through clenched jaws. With one final tug, the branches strained, then snapped. In the time it took for the broken branch to fall to the ground, I had hit myself clear in the gut with the end of the hammer's handle, tumbling backwards and landing right on Goompa.

"Ow…" I rolled off Goompa, sprawling on the grass. "You okay there, Goompa?"

"Fine," Goompa answered, likewise sprawled on his back in the grass. "Just fine. Broke the fall with my spine 'n all. It needed some work, anyway."

I sat up and examined the hammer we'd spent the last half hour searching for. The whole thing was made from solid wood and seemed like it was made from two parts: The wooden pole was about as long as my torso was from waist to shoulder, with the head of the hammer attached to the top. The head was as wide around as my two hands cupped together to make a circle, and as long as the distance between my hands if I held them out directly in front of me.

"So…" I said, giving the hammer a few practice swings. "The Goombas used this during the Koopa Rebellions?"

"Well, technically that particular hammer belonged to a Hammer Bro," Goompa shrugged as he stood back up to his feet. "A particularly brave Goomba stole that hammer from an enemy Hammer Bro and used it against 'em. Called them the Amazing Hammer Goomba with how many rebels he took down with that."

"Really?" I asked, standing up myself and resting the hammer across my shoulders. "Dang. What happened to 'im?"

"Tossed the hammer right into the air in celebration, then got knocked right on the noggin' when it fell back to earth. Poor thing was comatose for a week."

"…ah. So, uh… anyway, you say this thing's gonna take out the yellow block? It doesn't exactly look all that sturdy…"

"Looks can be deceiving, young one," Goompa said sagely, bowing his head to me. I laughed, leaning the hammer against the ground as I bowed back to Goompa.

"I see the folly of my ways, oh sensei," I said jokingly to him. "Please, teach me how to be a true Hammer Goomba… minus the whole 'concussed and comatose for a week' thing, please."

"Well then, since you asked so nicely, allow me to enlighten you!" Goompa laughed, winking at me. He turned and nodded over to another tree in the clearing. "Why don't you go over and give that tree a good old whack in the trunk?"

"Uh… what would that-"

"Are you questioning your sensei?!"

"Okay, okay!" I laughed, walking over to the tree. "Your words are wise, I will concede to them."

I planted my feet standing in front of the tree, gripping the handle of the hammer with both hands as I wound up my strike. I paused, posed to strike, before turning to Goompa. "Should I shout or something?"

"What?"

"You know, I'm hitting something with a hammer 'n all. Should I, like, let out a battle cry or something?"

"I mean… if you want to? Just do what comes naturally."

"Comes naturally… alright…" Turns out, what ended up coming naturally was some sort of weird groaning/grunting sound that wasn't all that cool. What WAS cool, however, was the impact of the hammer against the trunk of the tree. I felt a light shock go through my arms once impact was made, but that was nothing compared to the tree. The trunk of the tree literally swayed away from the impact by a few inches before rebounding, causing the entire tree to shake violently.

"Holy CRAP!" I laughed, taking a step back and looking at the results of my swing. "I didn't expect THIS much of an impact force from just a hammer swing!"

"Now what did I tell you?" Goompa playfully nudged me. "See, with this hammer by your side, you'll clear the road blocks ahead in no time flat-"

He was cut off as a tiny creature wearing an oversized eggshell for his pants and hat in a fashion that looked like he just hatched and was still carrying his shell around fell from the shaking tree, a plush Princess Peach doll tucked under his arm. He landed flat on his face with a grunt, sprawling out on impact.

"Oh geeze, I'm sorry kid!" I said to the egg child, holding out my left hand to help him up while my right hand still gripped the handle of the hammer. "I didn't know you were sleeping in that tree! Are you okay?"

"Muh…?" The egg child sat up, blinking sleepily at the two of us. Eyes widening in realization, he jumped to his feet and slapped my hand away. "You! What are you two doing here?! This is MY playground, idiots!"

"…?" I turned to Goompa with a confused look. The elder replied with an armless shrug, looking just as confused as I did.

"Uh… look, kid," I said, holding up my free hand. "I'm not looking for any trouble here-"

"Well that's too darn bad, 'cause you just FOUND trouble buddy!" The egg child pounded a fist against his chest. "The name's Jr. Troopa, boss of the local gang! Be sure to tell that to your mommy when I send you crying to her!"

Jr. Troopa charged the two of us. We both dived in opposite directions, avoiding the child's charge.

"…you guys have a local GANG?!" I asked Goompa. "There are all of _two_ houses around here!"

"Time and place!" Goompa chided, looking over to Jr. Troopa skidding to a stop and turning to face us again. "I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. You'll have to teach that kid a lesson!"

"A lesson?!" I looked between Goompa and Jr. Troopa as the latter charged at me. "What am I supposed to do?!"

"I don't…" Goompa paused, thinking for a moment. "Jump!"

"What?"

"Jump! Jump, now!"

I looked back to the charging Jr. Troopa. Deciding it'd be a good idea to listen to Goompa, I took a few running steps forward before jumping.

It was as if the moment I kicked off the ground, gravity was cut in half and the ground beneath my feet transformed into a trampoline. I jumped… no, I leapt… nono, I FLEW through the air over Jr. Troopa's head, landing with a skid on my feet a little ways away.

"Holy CRAP!" I stared down at my legs in disbelief. "Is this… did I just do that?! I mean, Jumpman and all but… WOW!"

"Grr… your fancy shamsy acrobatics can't stop the raw power of Jr. Troopa!" Once again, the egg child decided it was a good idea to charge at me again. I looked from my legs to the charging kid, an idea coming into my head. Once again, I took a running start. Once again, my jump felt powerful. But this time, I aimed my decent to Jr. Troopa's head. My feet made contact with his face, and it felt like it took a second for physics to catch up to us as the two of us were practically frozen to that spot for a moment. Taking advantage of this beat, I kicked off Jr. Troopa's face to fly into the air once again. At this point Newton's third law must've realized it fell asleep on the job because as soon as I kicked off, Jr. Troopa was sent flying in the opposite direction.

Seeing as I myself was flying backwards after that jump, I decided it'd be a cool idea to try and pull off a backflip before landing. The results: Skidding on the ground right on my back until I came to a slow stop.

"Oooh, that looked like it hurt…" Goompa muttered. Then, louder: "It's alright, son! At least you kicked Jr. Troopa down a notch!"

"Down, but not out!" The bruised child stood back up, skidding his feet on the grass as if he were a bull about to charge. I stood back up, silently noting to myself that I would feel that skidding against the ground in the morning. I stared at Jr. Troopa for a second before my gaze traveled back to my hammer. My mind flashed back to the shaking tree after impact with my hammer.

"If this doesn't send the message to the kid to stay down, I don't know WHAT will…" I muttered, planting my feet and winding up a hammer swing. With a scream that I'm sure Jr. Troopa thought was a battle cry but to me sounded like a wail, the kid charged at me.

"The Hammerman stands at home plate!" I narrated. "His eyes are on the target! The target approaches! He swings!"

The head of the hammer made contact with Jr. Troopa's face. I felt a slight shudder go up my arms before Jr. Troopa was sent sailing through the air before slamming face-first into the trunk of a tree, collapsing on the ground.

"AND IT'S A HOOOOME RUUUUUUN!" I cheered to myself, holding up my hammer. "THE CROWD GOES WILD!"

"You alright, son?" Goompa asked, hiding a snicker as he approached me.

"Oh yeah, I'm just fine!" I turned my gaze to Jr. Troopa as he forced himself to stand up again. "I just hope the kid is, too."

"Shoot! You… you!" Jr. Troopa pointed to me. "This isn't the end, mustache-face! I'll be back! You'll see! Then you'll COWER in fear at the awesome might of Jr. Troopa!"

He hurried out of the clearing and out of sight. Goompa and I stared after him as he left.

"…well that was-" Goompa started.

"COWER, I SAY!" Jr. Troopa's voice echoed throughout the clearing. There was another pause.

"…well that was an event," Goompa finished as if nothing happened.

"I'll say," I nodded, walking over to the spot Jr. Troopa made impact with the tree and picking up the doll he dropped. It looked like a hand-sewn doll made in Princess Peach's likeness. "Kid dropped his doll in the fight. Think I should give it back to him if we see him again?"

"I don't think he'd exactly be willing to take the time to talk to you if he sees you again," Goompa replied.

"Point taken." I pocketed the doll, turning back to the path leading out of the clearing. "Now then! What do you say we take care of that stupid yellow block and get the heck out of here?"

"Music to my ears, son!"

Walking side-by-side, Goompa and I made our way out of the clearing and back to the path leading to the house, where the rest of the family was no doubt worried sick about the both of us.


End file.
